Inspire Appeal – St Bride’s Church

INSPIRE! An appeal to save Sir Wren’s masterpiece

St Bride’s Church in London is one of the finest examples of Sir Christopher Wren’s work, and has stood tall for more than 300 years, including surviving the Blitz.

However, three centuries of weather damage and pollution have taken their toll on this masterpiece, and unless £2.5m can be raised for urgent maintenance, the church could be closed.

The restoration project includes the crumbling spire and stonework, as well as the interior of the church, untouched for more than 30 years, which also sorely needs attention.

In light of this, SBID is proud to announce that three of its Directors are on the Inspire Appeal Working Group:Gerald Bowey (CEO, International Building Press), SBID President Vanessa Brady and Michael Rose CBE, Hon FRIBA (Chairman, The Building Centre Group Ltd).

The iconic spire of the Fleet Street church is at danger of being classed as officially ‘At Risk’ if £300,000 is not raised.

The INSPIRE! Appeal was launched in March, 2012 and has so far raised around £700,000 of the overall minimum total of £2.5million needed to save the spire. St Bride’s is one of Sir Christopher Wren’s masterpieces and its wedding cake-shaped spire has influenced countless other buildings.

Joanna Lumley said: “How thrilling to think that every tiered wedding cake the world over was inspired by the steeple of St Bride’s Church, Wren’s fragile masterpiece which stands like a spiral shell in the heart of London. How perfect it would be if every marriage remembered this link by offering a small donation to save the spire in its time of great need.”